A while back we did a post listing 100 Great Game Based Learning and Gamification Resources, and since then we’ve done an occasional series called GBL Picks to try and curate information for you. Like we’ve mentioned before, we are out to educate the whole community as much as possible on using games for learning—from designing your own learning game to case studies on the efficacy of games.

So in line with that mission, we’d like to recommend 5 great blogs about serious games and gamification (besides our own of course).

We’ll start with the blog that will keep you in the know. Gamification Co. obviously focuses on gamification, and doesn’t include much on game based learning. But one of the best things about Gamification Co. is that on top of the usual “5 tips for doing X” type of posts, they often have really relevant news related posts. If a major company like eBay or Verizon tries gamification, they’ll have a post about it right away. If a hot new startup app includes game elements, they will let you know.

The other major reason we’re including this blog is their affiliation with GSummit, one of the biggest conferences for learning about gamification. They’ll frequently post speaker videos from the conference that are full of great information.

You’ve probably heard him mentioned on this site before, but if you haven’t checked out his blog yet then you definitely should. Karl Kapp partnered with Sharon Boller, the creator of Knowledge Guru, to put on the successful Play to Learn workshop. He’s been a thought leader in the industry for a while now. He has authored 2 books on the subject including The Gamification of Learning and Instruction, one of the best books out there about games for learning.

His credentials alone land him on this list of recommended blogs, but the content is great too. Between tips from Karl himself and the resources he shares, you are bound to learn some things about games.

Edutopia is a huge resource for the K-12 world in general, but they also have a blog dedicated exclusively to game based learning. Despite the website’s overall focus on K-12, this blog frequently posts great content and research that applies to games in every environment, not just the classroom. A great example is this recent post by Matthew Farber. All in all, this is a great resource for instructors in all environments looking for research and advice on using games for learning.

Forbes contributor Jordan Shapiro has had quite a few articles get shared out in our GBL Picks or on the Knowledge Guru Twitter feed. He consistently writes great articles on edTech and game-based learning. He always brings an interesting perspective to the table by looking at the social implications of using games for learning on top of the usual commentary about their efficacy. A great example of his writing is this post titled “Beyond Design Thinking In Education And Research.”

He always has great facts and figures, but you can expect a much more philosophical approach from this blog. His posts will be particularly interesting to anyone with a real passion for games and using technology to teach.

The final blog on our list is more about games, and less about serious games. However, whenever a post comes up about serious games, you can expect it to be great. That’s why, just like Jordan Shapiro, Gamasutra posts have wound up in GBL Picks and on our Twitter feed numerous times. Here’s a great example of a Gamasutra post about serious games. Author Andrzej Marczewski breaks down a few different categories of serious games so that the overly broad term can have a little more meaning for instructors.

That’s our list of 5 great serious games and gamification blogs to follow. Make sure our blog is one you’re following as well so you can get more great content like this. Don’t forget to check out Sharon Boller’s Learning Game Design series as well. She’ll break down every step that goes into designing a game for learning and teach you about what makes games effective teaching tools along the way.